Photo:2
Photo:3
Photo:4
Photo:5
Photo:6
Photo:2 Photo:3 Photo:4 Photo:5 Photo:6 |
| Background | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2>
The series began when Croshaw created two video reviews, one for The Darkness demo for the PlayStation 3 and the other for Fable: The Lost Chapters for the PC and uploaded them on YouTube. Among other organizations, The Escapist contacted Croshaw and offered him a contract shortly thereafter. Since then Zero Punctuation has become extremely popular.[1] The series remains one of the publication's most prolific and signature features.[citation needed]
[edit] Tags:Lead Section,Summarize,References,Citations,Avatar,Video Game,Ben Yahtzee Croshaw,Youtube,The Escapist,The Darkness,Demo,Playstation 3,Fable: The Lost Chapters,Pc,Ironic,Leslie Gore,Manhunt,Gta Iv,Trilby,Chzo Mythos,Haze,Hard Reset,Jrpgs,Fighting Games,Nintendo,Quick Time Events,Wii,Portal,Psychonauts,Silent Hill 2,Half-life,Saints Row 2,Batman: Arkham Asylum,Just Cause 2,Portal 2,Bioshock,Michael Atkinson,Branston Pickle,Charlie Brooker, | |||||||||||||||||||
| Format | 2>
In Zero Punctuation, Croshaw usually reviews a game or games using rapid-fire speech delivery (which was the inspiration for the name "Zero Punctuation", although he states that his fast talking was "by accident").[1] This is accompanied by minimalistic cartoon imagery on a distinctive yellow background, illustrating what is being said or providing ironic counterpoint to it. The videos are typically around five minutes in length and formerly featured commercial songs at the beginning and end, which were usually related to the game context (although sometimes only tangentially, such as Croshaw using Dave Matthews Band's Crash Into Me for the Burnout review). Other reviews have an opening song completely at odds with the game in question (such as Leslie Gore's Sunshine, Lolipops and Rainbows for the overtly dark and violent game Manhunt). These have since been replaced by a single, standard opening sequence consisting of clips from past reviews and metal music, as composed and performed by Ian Dorsch[citation needed]. The end credits often feature humorous notes about Croshaw's reviews such as "Systematically alienating every type of fanboy" in GTA IV, and often also contain characters from the review engaging in slapstick.
Croshaw, who uses his "Yahtzee" nickname while reviewing, appears in the videos wearing a trilby (much like the main character of his Chzo Mythos games). A recurring character in the videos is a small imp-like creature (who also appears in one of the Zero Punctuation logos) who usually plays various supporting roles in the video as either the antagonist or the sidekick, often taking the place of enemies in the game being reviewed. The imp is in fact a stylized version of a "darkling" from the first game Yahtzee reviewed, The Darkness, that he referred to as an "Evil Imp". Croshaw frequently anthropomorphs video games and game companies in his reviews, using them as characters by adding legs and arms to the game's box art or logo.
[edit] | Tags: Critical style | 2>
Croshaw, more often than not, provides highly critical reviews of games, usually pointing out the faults that he implies other professional reviewers ignore in high-profile releases. [2] He also provides negative reviews of less popular games, such as Haze and Hard Reset, and tends to shun certain genres of games, e.g. JRPGs, RTS games and fighting games or certain overused conventions, e.g. Nintendo's continuation of its long-running franchises, and "[his] old arch-nemesis" quick time events. He claimed that the Wii's control scheme will just be a short-lived gimmick.[citation needed]
The reviews are not universally negative, and he has occasionally praised games, for example Portal,[3] Psychonauts,[4] or Silent Hill 2[5] all received positive reviews and first/third person shooters are usually compared to Half-life series as model examples of the genre. Saints Row 2, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Just Cause 2 and Portal 2 were named as his Games of the Year of 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 respectively. Croshaw started his review of BioShock by acknowledging that "Despite all the horrible things I'm about to say, it's still probably one of the best games of the year", but spent the rest of the review harshly criticizing it, saying "No-one likes it when I'm being nice to a game" (referring to his positive review of Psychonauts).[6]
He also often raises popular topics related to video games, such as criticism of former Attorney-General Michael Atkinson for his opposition to mature-rated games in Australia, where he currently resides, and topics not related to video games, often for humorous purposes, such as Branston Pickle and the United States government.
Croshaw also cites the work of British television critic and PC Zone journalist Charlie Brooker as the "main inspiration" for his own reviewing style, as well as the writings of Douglas Adams, Sean "Seanbaby" Riley, and Old Man Murray's Chet Faliszek and Erik Wolpaw.[7][8]
[edit] | Tags: References | 2>
^ a b Orland, Kyle (March 22, 2008). "PressSpotting: Ramblin' with Ben 'Yahtzee' Croshaw". GameSpot. http://uk.gamespot.com/news/6235040/pressspotting-ramblin-with-ben-yahtzee-croshaw. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
^ Zero Punctuation Mailbag Showdown
^ Croshaw, Ben. The Orange Box review. 17 Oct 2007. Quote: "Absolutely sublime from start to finish ... Portal's great ..."
^ Croshaw, Ben. Psychonauts review. 22 Aug 2007. Quote: "I obviously like the game .. It's something original ... It's genuinely funny ... It's fun!"
^ Croshaw, Ben. Silent Hill 2 review. 17 Aug 2009. Quote: "Silent Hill 2 is not just a game I think is good ... What it does best – and better than any other game I know – is atmosphere."
^ "Zero Punctuation Psychonauts review". http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/zeropunctuation/1368-Zero-Punctuation-Psychonauts. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
^ Zero Punctuation's Yahtzee Interview: Ben Croshaw & The Escapist
^ [1] Yahtzee Visits Valve, a Travelogue
[edit] | Tags: External links | 2>
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Zero Punctuation
Zero Punctuation at The Escapist
Fully Ramblomatic, Ben Croshaw's personal website
v
t
e
Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw
Video games
Arthur Yahtzee Trilogy • Rob Blanc Trilogy (AGFW) • Chzo Mythos (Special Editions) • 1213 Series (Special Editions)
Other
Zero Punctuation (episodes) • Mogworld • Game Damage • Mana Bar • Comics
Related
Adventure Game Studio • The Escapist • Mark Lovegrove
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Zero_Punctuation&oldid=487632569"
Categories: Video game review websitesBlack comedyAnimated internet series2007 establishmentsHidden categories: Wikipedia introduction cleanup from March 2012All pages needing cleanupArticles lacking reliable references from August 2011All articles lacking reliable referencesAll articles with unsourced statementsArticles with unsourced statements from May 2011Articles with unsourced statements from February 2012Articles with unsourced statements from August 2011
Personal tools
Log in / create account
Namespaces
Article
Talk
Variants
Views
Read
Edit
View history
Actions
Search
Navigation
Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact Wikipedia
Toolbox
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Cite this page
Print/export
Create a bookDownload as PDFPrintable version
This page was last modified on 16 April 2012 at 08:19.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License;
additional terms may apply.
See Terms of use for details.
Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.Contact us
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Mobile view
if(window.mw){
mw.loader.state({"site":"loading","user":"ready","user.groups":"ready"});
}
if(window.mw){
mw.loader.load(["mediawiki.user","mediawiki.page.ready","mediawiki.legacy.mwsuggest","ext.gadget.teahouse","ext.vector.collapsibleNav","ext.vector.collapsibleTabs","ext.vector.editWarning","ext.vector.simpleSearch","ext.UserBuckets","ext.articleFeedback.startup","ext.articleFeedbackv5.startup","ext.markAsHelpful","ext.pageTriage.startup"], null, true);
}
| Tags: Lead Section,Summarize,Websites related to: Game Review |